Does God Ask for Loyalty?

 

“Our worst days are never so bad that we are beyond the reach of God’s grace.

And our best days are never so good that you are beyond the need of God”s grace.”

– Jerry Bridges

1929-2016

Author

 

Does God ask us to be loyal to Him? Think about this. We are called to obey; that is not the same as loyalty. We are told to fear God; that is not the same as loyalty. We are told to love God; that to is not the same as loyalty. I am no theologian or scholar, but this is how I see it. God does not ask us to be loyal because loyalty is not demanded. It is given. We chose to be loyal because we love and trust Him. We offer our loyalty to God without His having to require it.  It is ours to give, and we choose to give it to Him.

 Do not make a mistake in thinking that means that you go into the ministry and give all your time to Christian work. For the believer in Jesus Christ, there is no difference between sacred and secular work. All we do is ministry if we do it to the glory of God. Canadian preacher and founder of the Christian and Missionary Alliance Church A.B. Simpson (1843-1919) said, “God means every Christian to be effective, to make a difference in the actual records and results of Christian work. God put each of us here to be a power. There is not one of us but is an essential wheel of the machinery and can accomplish all that God calls us to do.”

As a Christian, you know that you are a constant representative of the Lord you serve. How you behave, the language you use, the character you display are examples of what Christ is in your life. Pastor Sinclair B. Ferguson said, “There is nothing more important about Christian growth than this: Growing in grace means becoming like Christ.”

I dare say that none of us are satisfied with how we represent Christ to the world we live in. We all feel that we fall short and have failed Him countless times. Even evangelist Billy Graham (1918-2018) said, “The Christian life is not a constant high. I have moments of deep discouragement. I have to go to God in prayer with tears in my eyes, and say, ‘O God, forgive me,’ or ‘Help me.’”

However, being loyal to God is not being perfect. If anyone of us could be the perfect example of Christ, we would not need a Saviour. We all fall short, and all need help. The thing that makes us Christian is that we stay at it. We do not give up at every difficulty and turn back to the world. We know that there is only one hope and one source of power: Jesus Christ, who gave His life for our salvation.

Loyalty to God means we belong to Him. No matter how many times we may stumble along the way, we will never leave Him or go back to the life we knew before Him. His loyalty to us is without question. He said He would never leave us or forsake us. We are the ones who can show the world power and freedom that there is in Christ. We can do the one thing Jesus Himself could not do. Show the world a sinner saved by grace.

You can learn more about Personal Development from the author and speaker, John Patrick Hickey. To get his books, training material, or book him to speak to your church, business, or group, visit our website at www.johnpatrickhickey.com.   

© 2021 John Patrick Hickey. No part of this material may be reprinted or published without the written permission of the author.